Google Buys Snapseed, Perhaps To Keep Up With Instagram And Facebook

Google has just agreed to a deal to buy the German company Nik Software, which makes the photography app Snapseed. Though Snapseed’s user base isn’t gigantic, the app was named the iPad App of the Year for 2011 and it’s very highly regarded in tech circles for its innovative multi-touch photo editing interface.

The acquisition looks like an attempt on Google’s part to keep pace with Facebook, which acquired the ridiculously popular photo-sharing app Instagram earlier this year for a reported $1 billion.

Google surely paid less for Snapseed than Facebook paid for Instagram, but it’s safe to say that the search giant shelled out a pretty penny for the software. As Google+, Google’s attempt at a social network, falls more and more out of relevancy, this could be viewed as a desperation move.

There’s still no Android version of a Snapseed app, but one has been rumored to be just around the corner for months now. With this acquisition, it may never see the light of day. It would not be surprising to see Google roll up its functionality into the Google+ app.